CH 7: What Lies Ahead
There were definite advantages to being a General's daughter when using a Galbadian shipping company, Squall noted as Rinoa's and his belongings were carted away marked for shipment by overnight express and done so for free. With one less worry on their minds, Rinoa and Squall moved ahead to the Balamb train station.
After paying an exorbitant amount of 3000 Gill for their two tickets to Deling City, they boarded the train and found their cabin. Squall sat on the couch, closing his eyes. He knew what had happened and now it was starting to be real for him. He let out a sigh.
"Do you regret what we have done?" Rinoa asked quietly, still standing by the door.
Squall didn't open his eyes at first but smiled. "No, I don't regret resigning. If that means the end of our dream of SeeD then, well, we will have to make a new dream wont we?" Squall opened his eyes to see Rinoa's warm grin.
"That's good. I am glad that you don't have any regrets. Neither do I." She slumped into the couch next to him. "It sounds like you already have a plan for a new dream."
Rinoa waited expectantly, but Squall just smiled sweetly at her. She punched his shoulder. "Well?"
Squall couldn't help but laugh. She just looked so eager to hear this plan. He decided that it was in his own best interest to tell her when she looked ready to hit him again. "Ok, Ok. Hold your horses. Well, what is it that you and I always wanted to be, generally speaking?"
"That's easy, SeeD commanders."
"Well, yes and no. What we wanted to be were hired mercenaries that could tackle any situation and do it with others that we trusted with our lives." Squall stood and started pacing back and forth in front of her.
Rinoa thought about this carefully. Hadn't it always been being a SeeD and not just a mercenary? No, she thought, not really. It was just that SeeDs were the most prestigious and expensive of the mercenary forces. Not only that, but they only accepted contracts that fit with their value system. So really, Squall was right. She wanted to help others, albeit by force and getting paid for it, with the ones she had trained with and trusted. So, what is his plan?
"Ok, yeah. That is exactly what I wanted. What does that have to do with our current situation?"
Her silence for so long had begun to worry him, but when she came to the same conclusion that he had, Squall was much relieved. "Our dream doesn't have to die." Her expression became skeptical. "Think about it Rinoa! We were on track to be the best SeeDs that Garden had seen. I know that we are stronger than some official SeeD. Sure we may not have their GFs but what does that matter? So I cannot wield Shiva or Ifrit, so what? There has to be more GF in this world than what they have. Take Griever for an example! And even if there isn't, we don't have to use GF to be excellent fighters and strategists." He was becoming more excited as he continued.
Rinoa just could not follow what he meant. How could they continue their dream and not be SeeDs? "Did you hit your head when I wasn't looking?" She sounded disbelieving, but it did not quell Squall's enthusiasm in the least. He laughed instead. He stopped pacing and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his.
"We could start our own mercenary group! With your father's support with funding and equipment, at first any way, we would pay him back as quickly as we could, and with our being Garden Trained, we could land independent contracts where using a SeeD was impractical or more hassle than these people felt it was worth. I was once able to see the number of requests for SeeD when I was in Cid's office years ago. He even told me that they only respond to 10 of the requests, just because there aren't enough SeeD to go around!"
A manic gleam had come into his eye. And Rinoa had to admit, that the idea had great merit. Of course they were more than capable to handle missions, even difficult ones. Squall could probably handle missions alone that a team of three or four SeeDs couldn't. And with her help, they could take on a lot of missions and contracts. Plus they would be able to choose their clients and everything. This was sounding better and better.
"Squall, how on earth did you come up with this? Not that I'm complaining!" Rinoa said quickly.
"While we were riding in the elevator after our sudden resignations, I knew we would need to do something and was angry about SeeD, and to be honest was trying to think of a way to hurt their reputation more than anything. Then this came to me. A way that we could do what we had always wanted to do, and at the same time hurt the Garden's reputation. I mean, how does it look for a Garden when two SeeD candidates resign? Not just resign though, but start competing for business?" He sounded sheepish about his wanting at least a slight revenge on the Garden for the way it was run considering what had happened over the last 48 hours.
Rinoa squeezed his hands that were still holding hers. "It's ok Squall! We had put so much faith in the Garden and it treated us poorly. We'll allow the reputation of our Elite Mercenary group do the humiliating while we stand quietly aloof."
"You are a devious woman Miss Heartily. What am I going to do with you?" Squall got up and sat next to her, placing his arm around her shoulders and drawing her against him.
"For now, just stay with me. We should get some sleep. If I know the General, he is going to interrogate us forever when we get there. Of course you will get the greatest brunt of his temper. Leading his innocent daughter away from school and all." Rinoa lay against his chest.
Squall laughed. "In that case I will be prepared. Go ahead and take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."
"Is that what you really want?" The question had deeper meaning than the words showed. The meaning was not lost on Squall.
"Rinoa, I love you. I love your spirit, your heart and your mind. I love everything about you. I will not force anything on you. In fact, when it comes to our relationship. I would much rather that sleeping together happened after we were married. I do not mind sleeping on a couch, knowing that you are comfortable and not pressured into doing anything. We have time and we have each other. That is all that matters." Squall rubbed her shoulder as he said this.
"Thank you Squall. I was afraid that, well, you wanted more than this and I was just not comfortable with giving it." She bit her bottom lip. "Did you say married?"
Squall laughed again. The sound made Rinoa giddy. "Rinoa, my love, you need to get your sleep. How is your back? Do you need to put some of that anesthetic on?"
He was avoiding the question, but he had a point. Even if Rinoa didn't like it. "My back is alright for now. I'll sleep on my stomach again so if it does start to hurt, I wont have any pressure on it." She stood and stretched before walking over to the bed. She saw that it had multiple blankets and threw the top one over to Squall. Afterward, she lay down and, with her thoughts on Squall, fell asleep.
Squall watched her for an hour. The train had started moving shortly after she had gone to sleep and hadn't woken her up. Squall enjoyed watching her so much. He felt complete just by being in her presence. He didn't need physical intimacy to know she loved him, and for her to know he loved her. Squall promised Rinoa quietly that she would always know he loved her without it. After this, Squall turned off the lights and went to sleep.
For the second night in a row, Rinoa's dreams were not the troubled nightmares that they had been. When she woke, she felt better than she had in a long time. She lay on her stomach with her eyes closed just enjoying the morning. The gentle sound of a train moving down the tracks, and Squalls even breathing were the only noises to great her this morning. Rinoa thought to herself that she wished she could take a shower this morning but that would have to wait until they got to the General's home.
She started to think about the General. She hadn't seen him since the beginning of the summer vacation last almost nine months ago. They hadn't spent much time together since Rinoa's mother had died, and though she loved her father, she felt she didn't really know him and so always referred to him as the General. She wondered if this would change anything but she doubted it. That opportunity to be close to each other was probably gone forever. But that was ok. Rinoa had a new love in her life.
Rinoa thought back to the night before. Squall telling her that he loved her and wanted to respect her above everything else. Well, that wasn't what he said aloud, but she knew that is what he meant. Rinoa was not naïve. She knew so many students at the Garden engaged in promiscuous behaviors, despite the severe penalties for being caught and knew that she didn't want to be one of those. It really made her feel good that Squall felt the same way. She would be safe with him.
The train began to slow, and an announcement came blaring over the speakers in the car, that they had arrived in Deling City. The abruptness caused Squall to jump and fall off the couch. Rinoa, who had been watching him the whole time, burst out laughing. Her back gave a twinge of pain, but it didn't faze her in the least. Squall lay there too startled to even curse.
"Wow, I haven't slept that good in years." He glared up at her, "You are just loving that I ended up on the floor, aren't you? Well for that, you will pay!"
Squall leapt off the floor and began to tickle Rinoa mercilessly. Her laughter intensified until she was gasping for breath, at which time, Squall sat back on the couch, running his hand through his hair. Rinoa lay there for another minute breathing heavily. When she finally was able to breath normally again, she got up and sat next to Squall, giving him a hug that he returned though with care because of her back.
"Shall we get going? We'll want to reach your father's before our belongings do. I am not sure that I want him to see my belongings along with yours before we have a chance to tell him what has happened."
Rinoa sighed. That was true enough. The general would have a fit and assume she was pregnant. This thought was all the motivation she needed and soon after the train had stopped they were hurrying to the bus stop. After the train tickets, Rinoa was happy that Deling City public transit was free.
They couple caught the number eight bus that had a stop right in front of the General's mansion. During their trip they discussed what they would need to do to start their own mercenary organization and, once they realized that they would need the General's help, the best way to entice him into helping. By the time they reached the Caraway Mansion, they felt that they had everything planned out and were ready to present this to the General upon arrival.
They got off the bus and took the time to stretch from being cramped in the small bus. As they walked up to the mansion arm in arm, Rinoa suddenly regretted the advantage of being a General's daughter and using a Galbadian shipping company. All of her and Squall's stuff was being carried into the mansion and the General was looking at them with a glare that could have cut stone. It was the first time that Rinoa heard Squall curse, though it was far too quite for anyone but her to hear.
As they got to the door, the General spoke two words to them, "Inside, NOW!" Squall let his arm drop from Rinoa's shoulder. She took him by the hand and led him into the sitting room, and pointedly sat on the couch holding Squall's hand. It occurred to Squall as he sat there waiting for the General, that he may just die a second time. Especially considering that Rinoa was wearing her tight shorts still and the loose white shirt from the infirmary, he was wearing a similar shirt but at least had pants on, and both of them had very messy hair. This was going to be ugly. Squall groaned. Rinoa gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
Predictably, once the moving people were out of the house and the door had closed, the General entered the sitting room and started in on them. Well, started in on Squall anyway.
"Just who are you and how did you get my baby into this situation? How you talked Rinoa into sleeping with you, you little grease ball, and got her pregnant…"
"Daddy, I'm NOT pregnant," she shouted. The General stopped with his mouth still open. "If you would relax for ONE minute, we will tell you what we are doing here. To start, this is Squall Leonhart. You remember me telling you about him."
"You told me Squall Leonhart died!" the General said pointedly.
"Well, that is a yes and no type situation sir." Squall fielded this one. "I died, physically speaking, four years ago but was revived somewhat successfully by Garden Master NORG. I then underwent some… Special Training… away from Balamb Garden. In reality, part of me was still in the land of the dead until about 48 hours ago when your daughter managed to bring me back." Squall paused for air and Rinoa jumped in before the General could say anything else.
"Originally we weren't getting along when Squall first reappeared and Squall was ordered to avoid me at all costs. I went into the Training Center and got into a, how did you put it Squall? Oh yeah, a disagreement with a T-Rexaur. Squall was there and saved my life against orders. After spending the night…" Here the General interrupted.
"So you did sleep with him!"
"IN THE INFIRMARY! Would you let me finish my sentence before barging in!" She yelled taking the general aback. "As I was saying the next morning, yesterday actually, we were ordered to report to the headmaster who proceeded to yell at Squall for saving me and threatening him with a Courts Martial. I told the headmaster what I thought of that and he yelled at me to. So we resigned citing a conflict of values and left the Garden." Rinoa was slightly red from rushing through the story and having to yell to be heard.
It seemed that the General had a one way mind and it was having trouble changing the tracks. "So you haven't slept with him?"
"Oh for the sake of all that is good and holy, NO dad. I am still a virgin and content to stay that way until married. Squall feels exactly the same way!" Rinoa, though angry, blushed at saying this to her father and had trouble meeting the two men's eyes afterwards. Squall broke the silence.
"She is right sir. I love your daughter and because I love your daughter I would never ask her to do that out of wedlock. Some of us 'kids' DO have morals." The last sounded like a rebuke, though the General didn't make an issue of it. Instead he did what Rinoa had never heard him do. He apologized.
"Rinoa, Squall. I'm sorry for acting this way. I should know my daughter better than to assume that she was…. Anyway," he shook his head to clear his thoughts, "thank you for saving my little girl. I couldn't have taken losing her too for no reason other than orders. I hope you presented your objections in a less insulting manner that you make it sound?"
"Of course we did dad." Rinoa spoke in a calming manner, assuring her dad that it was not a spur of the moment decision. "I think you need to withdraw your support from the Gardens."
The General frowned. "Rinoa, we need to have mercenary groups like SeeD. Things could become very complicated without them. You don't have any clue what lies ahead of us."
"Actually sir, we had another neutral mercenary group in mind for you to support." Squall's heart began to race as they came to, what he felt was, the real meat of the conversation.
The General's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean another mercenary group?"
"Squall is talking about our dream. To be a part of a mercenary group that fights for others who share the same ideals, mind you even if that is for money. Our dream of fighting together with others that we trust." The general was looking confused. "We are the group that Squall is talking about. We will form the core of a new mercenary group."
"Sir, our exit will have repercussions. There is no way that Cid and NORG can keep our leaving, let alone our reasons for leaving quiet. I firmly believe that we will have other Garden students looking for us once they know that the two best SeeD candidates have started a mercenary faction that holds true to the ideals that we were taught in Garden. This could work, sir."
The General started pacing around the room. What did this boy know of running a mercenary group? The financing alone would be out of their league. Not to mention how they would get contracts. The General knew that Rinoa was bright, and had to admit this young man that had saved her seemed to be intelligent enough to disobey orders when there was sufficient enough need and the circumstances made the orders obsolete. But starting a new mercenary faction? They most be mad or naïve.
"Squall, do you understand what is required to start this venture? The capital, equipment, the contacts for heavens sakes!" The General had to admit that the idea had merit if they could work these matters out.
"That is why we have come to you sir."
"I'm not sure that I follow you."
"Rinoa and I have been trained to fight and lead other soldiers. In the military, we could only hold the highest rank of captain, maybe because we just don't have the training to run the entirety of an organization. Our part would be to form the core of the group. To carry out missions, assign them to the most able people and see that the contracts were fulfilled." Squall's slow smile climbed its way on his face. "That is why we need you. You have the experience and knowledge in order to handle the fiscal and diplomatic end of things. While I was gone from the Garden I had the chance to hear many things and, forgive me if this is being forward, but you are do for retirement soon, are you not?"
The General could see that underestimating this pair would be a costly mistake. Their plan was well thought out and they seemed totally committed to it. How Squall had heard his retirement was coming soon, was beyond him. Supposedly only President Deling knew.
"Yes, I will be in six months. It was to be a surprise after Rinoa had joined SeeD, but…"
"Sir, I believe you to be an honorable man and I am sure many feel the same towards you in many countries. If they found out that a man like the Great General Caraway was handling the contacts for a new mercenary force, we would begin to have clients and the resources to pay back your initial investment and then offer you a salary to stay onboard."
"Besides, dad, what where you planning to do with your time off anyway? You know this is a good idea and could work out. We wouldn't want you to start being involved in this right now, so think it over. We have to do some planning on how to level our playing field against SeeD in either the GF or technological fields. We may end doing some traveling to different countries so that we can start figuring out how this can best be done. We'll be checking on rumors and such and can even provide you with some independent intelligence on what is happening around the world." Rinoa smiled smugly at the General.
The General stared in shock at them. They had thought of everything it seemed. He stood wordless just looking at the two of them, still holding hands and waiting expectantly for some reply. To buy some time, the general resumed his pacing, having stopped it during Rinoa's part of the explanation. The General thought carefully. They had merit and he had to admit that retirement really didn't appeal to him.
The opportunity to work with a pseudo-military organization without the bureaucratic red tape had appeal. At his age the money had little appeal for himself, but he did want Rinoa to live comfortably when she was ready to settle down. He found himself thinking of the kind of gear he could get for his daughter and her partner. All the kinds of things that the Military wouldn't buy for its own special forces due to costs, but any sane Mercenary Group would leap at.
Finally he stopped his passing and turned to them. "Okay. You have obviously got this well planned out. I'll tell you what. You do some, ummm, 'favors' for me, and I'll agree to help."
Rinoa was instantly on guard. "What type of 'favors'?"
His daughter's reaction pleased the General. "No need to be suspicious. I won't ask you to do anything against your ideals. There are just a couple of issues with escaped military convicts terrorizing the Winhill and Timber country sides. The people of those countries think that they are just bandits and Deling has not corrected the opinion. As a matter of fact I have the appropriate files in my office. You two would be perfect since you aren't part of the Galbadian military and so cannot be linked to me or this country. Exactly what mercenaries are for, wouldn't you agree?"
"You don't fool me old man." Rinoa said. "You are up to something; I can see it in your eyes."
The General laughed. "Of course I am Rinoa. A couple of things first: One, be careful these are very dangerous people; Two, I would like you to test out some gear I recently saw a report on. It's Estharian so it should be really good. Unfortunately neither of our countries seems very interested in keeping front line grunts alive longer than normal. Finally, it strikes me that this would be an excellent opportunity to start building your rep. Right now, I am just a client. We'll use Squall's name as the contact since you are known, Rinoa. Is that OK?"
Rinoa and Squall looked at each other. Squall smiled to her, letting Rinoa know that he would trust her decision on this. She was his partner and the love of his life after all. "Alright. How long before the gear arrives? We'll want to let our friends back at the Garden have a general idea when we'll be around. We expect some of them to come soon, though probably not until the end of the school year."
The General thought about it. Probably not for another three, maybe four weeks. All the company had was a single demo model. I'll arrange for a couple of Field Test models to be sent here."
"Sir, if I may, I think you should have the request be made through our mercenary name from my personal account. I own a small property on the outskirts of Winhill that it would be sent to." Squall was deep in thought after his little speech. It would be perfect. Start their reputation now, ordering gear from a company that could see them as good future customers now might come in handy later.
"Squall, when did you get property in Winhill? How?" Rinoa was looking at him oddly now. It struck her how little she knew of the last 4 years he had experienced.
"Well, long story cut short. I ran across an old acquaintance from my time in the orphanage a couple years back. She was moving from Winhill to Esthar and gave me her property. Said she didn't need it anymore and that it brought back some bad memories."
"So who is this mysterious woman?" Rinoa tried to hide it but Squall could see a tint of jealousy in her beautiful brown eyes.
"Her name is Ellone. I guess Ellone Loire now. She was kind of an adopted child to Laguna Loire. He left her at the orphanage so she would be safe while he helped the Estharians overthrow Queen Adel. She was like a sister to me there." Squall reassured her with a gentle squeeze of her hand.
"Laguna Loire? As in the President of Esthar? That Laguna Loire?" The General stared.
"That's him. I have never met the man, and to be honest I was not in much of a state to be a polite acquaintance, Ellone knew what happened to me and understood and kept Laguna from meeting with me." Squall smiled shyly at Rinoa, reminding her that he was himself again because of her.
"Why would he have wanted to meet you?" It didn't happen often, but once in awhile, the General and his daughter would say the same thing at the same time. This was one of those rare occasions and provided a unique side of their relationship, as their tones were identically curious.
"It was the disagreement I had with the T-Rexaur. It didn't appreciate my rescuing its lunch." Squall shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of father and daughter.
Rinoa reached out and touched his scar. "So that was when you got this?"
"That was the time. Ellone decided that it was safer back in Esthar and had had enough of the monsters still roaming around the Winhill area and the pain they had caused. I didn't ask. So…. Back to our original topic of conversation. I'll give you the address and then we can arrive in Winhill the day before the shipment is due to arrive and that way we are already in the area to handle the 'favor'." Squall was still feeling uncomfortable. Neither of the others had blinked yet and it was starting to disturb him.
Squall said a silent thanks when the door bell rung, calling the others attention away from him. The General gave Squall an odd look and then went to open the door. Rinoa placed her hand on Squall's cheek, turning his head so he would look at her. Her deep brown eyes looked into his blue ones. Squall felt his breath catch in his throat.
"You are so beautiful!" His words were barely a whisper in the stillness of the sitting room.
The simple heartfelt words turned Rinoa's cheeks red. "I love you Squall Leonhart. Now and always."
Squall's mind was pure chaos having this angel saying those words to him as she looked in his eyes. They closed the small distance and kissed. All further thought was banished from Squall's mind. He was in heaven.